Agent: Vikings trade Moss to Raiders
[size=-1]By SEAN JENSEN[/size]
[size=-1]Pioneer Press[/size]
The Vikings have agreed to trade Randy Moss to the Oakland Raiders for starting linebacker Napoleon Harris, the seventh overall pick in the upcoming draft and a 2005 late-round pick . Trades can be worked out although not announced until next month, and Moss' agent, Dante DiTrapano, told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday that the deal is done.
"Nothing is official until March 2," DiTrapano said. "But don’t be surprised if Randy Moss is wearing the Silver and Black this upcoming season."
Vikings vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski would only say, "We've had some discussions with them (the Raiders), but there is nothing to announce."
Despite repeated denials, the Vikings have been shopping Moss for months, and they found a willing suitor in Al Davis, a maverick owner who embraces controversial players.
"In speaking with Moss, although he has a lot of ties to Minnesota and did not particularly want to be traded, he’s very excited with the possibility of playing for Al Davis and being a part of the Raider tradition," DiTrapano said. "The Raiders have vowed to use Randy’s talents the way they should be used, and that’s to throw the ball vertically down the field.
"Randy’s desire to win a Super Bowl is enhanced with a move to a team like the Raiders, because the Minnesota Vikings seem to be in a constant rebuilding mode."
The Vikings will wind up with the seventh overall pick for the third time in the last four years. In 2002, they drafted left tackle Bryant McKinnie, a starter. Two years ago, they had the seventh pick but a botched trade with Baltimore resulted in them picking two spots later. Still, they landed the player they coveted, defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who has emerged into a Pro Bowl player.
The Vikings have the 18th pick in this year’s draft.
With the departure of Moss, the Vikings' top receiver is third-year receiver Nate Burleson. But the Vikings are expected to bolster that group via the draft or free agency. With a weak free agent class headlined by Pittsburgh's Plaxico Burress, the Vikings’ options could increase with potential salary cap casualties such as Isaac Bruce, Muhsin Muhammad and Derrick Mason.
The NFL Draft in April also offers two promising players, Michigan's Braylon Edwards and Southern Cal's Mike Williams.
Harris was selected by the Raiders with the 23rd pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, and he has recorded 249 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and five passes defended over the past three seasons. He is 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, and he can play inside and outside.
The Raiders will assume Moss’ $7.25 million base salary for next season while the Vikings realize a cap savings of nearly $2 million. Four seasons remain on Moss’ eight-year $75 million contract. Sean Jensen covers the Vikings and the NFL. He can be reached at sjensen@pioneerpress.com.
[size=-1]By SEAN JENSEN[/size]
[size=-1]Pioneer Press[/size]
The Vikings have agreed to trade Randy Moss to the Oakland Raiders for starting linebacker Napoleon Harris, the seventh overall pick in the upcoming draft and a 2005 late-round pick . Trades can be worked out although not announced until next month, and Moss' agent, Dante DiTrapano, told the Pioneer Press on Wednesday that the deal is done.
"Nothing is official until March 2," DiTrapano said. "But don’t be surprised if Randy Moss is wearing the Silver and Black this upcoming season."
Vikings vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski would only say, "We've had some discussions with them (the Raiders), but there is nothing to announce."
Despite repeated denials, the Vikings have been shopping Moss for months, and they found a willing suitor in Al Davis, a maverick owner who embraces controversial players.
"In speaking with Moss, although he has a lot of ties to Minnesota and did not particularly want to be traded, he’s very excited with the possibility of playing for Al Davis and being a part of the Raider tradition," DiTrapano said. "The Raiders have vowed to use Randy’s talents the way they should be used, and that’s to throw the ball vertically down the field.
"Randy’s desire to win a Super Bowl is enhanced with a move to a team like the Raiders, because the Minnesota Vikings seem to be in a constant rebuilding mode."
The Vikings will wind up with the seventh overall pick for the third time in the last four years. In 2002, they drafted left tackle Bryant McKinnie, a starter. Two years ago, they had the seventh pick but a botched trade with Baltimore resulted in them picking two spots later. Still, they landed the player they coveted, defensive tackle Kevin Williams, who has emerged into a Pro Bowl player.
The Vikings have the 18th pick in this year’s draft.
With the departure of Moss, the Vikings' top receiver is third-year receiver Nate Burleson. But the Vikings are expected to bolster that group via the draft or free agency. With a weak free agent class headlined by Pittsburgh's Plaxico Burress, the Vikings’ options could increase with potential salary cap casualties such as Isaac Bruce, Muhsin Muhammad and Derrick Mason.
The NFL Draft in April also offers two promising players, Michigan's Braylon Edwards and Southern Cal's Mike Williams.
Harris was selected by the Raiders with the 23rd pick in the 2002 NFL Draft, and he has recorded 249 tackles, 2.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and five passes defended over the past three seasons. He is 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, and he can play inside and outside.
The Raiders will assume Moss’ $7.25 million base salary for next season while the Vikings realize a cap savings of nearly $2 million. Four seasons remain on Moss’ eight-year $75 million contract. Sean Jensen covers the Vikings and the NFL. He can be reached at sjensen@pioneerpress.com.
Porter contract includes $10M in guaranteesWildBill said:
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ESPN.com news services
The free-agent signing period doesn't get under way until March 2 but already one of the most coveted offensive playmakers is off the market.
Jerry Porter
Wide Receiver
Oakland Raiders
Profile
2004 SEASON STATISTICS
Rec Yds TD Avg Long YAC
64 998 9 15.6 52 202
Wide receiver Jerry Porter, a five-year veteran who would have been among the top unrestricted players at his position, signed a multi-year contract extension Tuesday that will keep him with the Oakland Raiders.
"I'm happy to return to the Raiders and ready to get started on a new football season," Porter said in a statement released by the team.
Porter's contract is for five years but automatically voids to three seasons. The three-year value can be as much as $15 million and the contract includes $10 million in guarantees. Negotiations had accelerated in recent days as the Raiders made the retention of Porter a priority.
"Jerry was pleased with the contract and excited to remain a Raider," his agent, Joel Segal, told The Associated Press. "It's a contract that's a good contract for Jerry and a good contract for the team. It's a win for everybody."
Because he had achieved certain performance levels, Porter had the right to void the 2005 portion of his existing contract and he said last week that was his intention. Porter a few weeks ago rejected the Raiders' proposal for a five-year, $20 million deal.
The signing freed the club to designate four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Charles Woodson as its franchise player again. Club officials had toyed with the idea of applying the "franchise" marker to Porter, but the new accord makes that a moot point. It will cost the Raiders $10.529 million for the one-year qualifying offer that accompanies the Woodson "franchise" tag, a 20 percent raise over last year's contract.
But Woodson still might not return to the Raiders. He is a non-exclusive franchise player, which allows him to negotiate with other teams -- and if he leaves, Oakland will get two first-round draft picks as compensation. The Raiders also could try to trade Woodson, who has openly clashed with management and coaches recently.
Porter, 26, enjoyed a breakout season in 2004, posting career bests in receptions (64) and receiving yards (998) and tying his career high with nine touchdown catches. The former West Virginia University standout, a second-round choice in the 2000 draft, also had 17 receptions of 20 or more yards.
Although he started the '04 campaign slowly, with just one touchdown catch in the first 10 outings of the season, Porter came on strong, particularly after developing a rapport with Collins, an excellent deep thrower.
Porter had eight touchdown catches in the final six games, including two contests with three touchdown grabs each, and averaged 18.3 yards per catch in that stretch. His season included three 100-yard outings.
In 69 career appearances, and 32 starts, Porter has 163 receptions for 2,273 yards and 19 touchdown passes. His ratio of one touchdown catch per every 8.6 receptions is one of the best in the NFL over the past five years. Porter's average yards per reception also has increased every season of his career.
"We're excited to have Jerry back in the silver and black for the long term," coach Norv Turner said. "Although he posted career numbers last year, we feel Jerry's best football is still ahead of him."
Turner had much less to say about his embattled cornerback.
"We're pleased to retain the services of Charles Woodson," Turner said in a statement.
Quarterback Kerry Collins called for the Raiders to re-sign Porter late in the season, saying it was one of the most important decisions the team had to make. By that night, Segal had a preliminary offer on the table, Porter said.
"This year, a year stronger, another year with Kerry, another year in Norv's offense, it's only going to get better," Porter said.
The Raiders parted ways with Tim Brown and Jerry Rice last fall, and Porter emerged as their top pass-catching threat alongside Ronald Curry. Porter also excels in the downfield passing game favored by owner Al Davis.
Information from ESPN.com senior NFL writer Len Pasquarelli and The Associated Press was used in this report
trytrytry said:
Take a deep breath, man. Face facts.
1. We have had Randy Moss for the past few years, and we have not gotten the job done.
2. A wide receiver can not be the most dominant player on the field in a football game, let alone in the entire league.
3. We got a number seven pick in the draft. Either we get a major impact player there, or package the pick with the number 18 pick we already have and get a top 3 pick. We realized an immediate $2 million plus added to our free agent spending money for next year, putting us over $38 million to spread around on major impact players in free agency. We got a player that will undoubtedly upgrade us at our weakest position...linebacker. The kid was a first round pick and obviously can play. With us, he's already probably our starting middle linebacker.
4. Culpepper (the real franchise) and Birk cannot stand the act any more. Moss is on the downside of his career. He is getting hurt more and more. A wide receiver that plays half the downs cannot be considered a dominating performer.
That's enough for now. I have supported Randy Moss up until this season. He and his agent said he would only agree to go to Atlanta or Baltimore. Billick didn't want the headache, and he controlled Moss for the first few years. What does that tell you? Atlanta...who has NO good receivers other than Crumpler, was not interested. And do you think Moss was gonna come back after the real team leaders exposed him for what he was and put forth a real effort? Please. Think about it.
There are some good free agent receivers out there. There are two AWESOME WR's in the draft in the kid from Michigan and Mike Williams. Big, strong, fast and full of personality...like Moss.
The deal is good. They obviously had nothing better to do, and to do this in advance of the draft and free agency is finally one of the smart things this franchise has ever done.
Nice job, Vikes. Looking forward to a new era.
